The Best in the West to race in Burnaby as winter Track Cycling season gets underway

On Saturday, November 12, some of the top cyclists from BC, Alberta and the Western United States will begin three days of track racing in Burnaby at Western Canada's only indoor velodrome. The competition will give local riders and National team members a chance to test their skills as they begin their preparation for the 2005-2006 World Cup season and the March 2006 Commonwealth Games.

All racing takes place at the Burnaby Velodrome, a 200-metre wooden track, located inside the Harry Jerome Sports Centre near SFU, featuring hair-raising 47 degree corners and lots of opportunities for dramatic photos and visuals. For more information, visit www.burnabyvelodrome.ca. Registration is now available at www.karelo.com.

Date/Time:Nov 12: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PMNov 13: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Location:Harry Jerome Sports Centre7564 Barnet HighwayBurnaby

'Cross 4 a Good Cause

Last night (Tuesday) was the first of a four-week cyclo-cross series held at the National Cycling Centre - Atlantic Canada (St-Anselme Park, Dieppe) where every penny raised in registration goes in for a good cause and the series winner will decide the which Foundation the donations will go to. The series is proudly presented by Mike's Bike Shop.

For this fun twilight event (and yes, lights will become more and more valuable as weeks progress), all categories are regrouped and riders are assigned a specific handicap. For example, top riders in the field needed to lap novice riders at least three times (on a short version of a cross course) to win the event. This proved to challenge everyone to give it their best effort ... it also encourages a few riders to come and join us for the first time and discover the discipline of cyclo-cross. For this event, mountain bikes are also accepted.

The event is also surrounded with a fun relaxed ambiance. After the race, a skid contest was held and was taken by Patrice Boudreau, followed closely by Jeff Currie.

The OCA is hosting a series of seminars this fall in an effort to support the growth and future direction of cycling in Ontario. These seminars on November 19th are sponsored in part by the Ontario Trillium foundation, which sees the needs for strong, self-sustaining events and grass roots development in the province.

To start off the day, Doug Detwiller, the inventor of Sprockids will share his experiences about the program and how to attract youth to cycling. His enthusiasm for the sport has taken a simple idea and created a program that attracts young people of all ages. Sprockids has grown in the last 15 years and now is present in 15 countries around the world. It's a great program for youth camps, retailers, recreation centres, clubs and schools.

USA MTB Hall of Fame member and IEG seminar professional speaker, Laird Knight will speak on 'winning event sponsorships.' Laird has over 23 years experience as mountain bike race organizer and his company, Granny Gear Productions, has earned a name in the industry for most innovative and successful event organizer. In 2001, Laird became West Virginia's Tourism Person of the year and in 2002 was inducted in the USA Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

Our third speaker, Chuck Hodge will discuss the intricacies of organizing road races. He will touch on all aspects of event organization as he has seen all sides of it - as an athlete, an organizer, technical director and commissaire. Examples will be taken from small event organizing all the way up to large event organizing - e.g. Tour de Georgia, one of the largest road races of North America.

Don't miss out on the seminars. Call the OCA office today and book your seats - limited space available: 416.426.7416 or www.ontariocycling.org

Canadian Sponsorship Forum 2005Courtesy SIRC

The Business of Sponsorship brings together industry leaders in a three-day forum to discuss leading trends and share current best practices in global sponsorship.

Learn and experience firsthand the power of world-class sponsor activation. Build your marketing expertise by answering two key questions:

* How do industry leaders in sponsorships succeed?* How can their successes be translated to your brand or property?

The ForumWhether you are a sponsor or a sponsorship property, plan to be in Vancouver, British Columbia, this fall to discover how to create winning strategies while networking with Canada's marketing elite at Canadian Sponsorship Forum 2005, November 25 to 27, 2005.

Speakers from world-class organizations like the Toronto Argonauts, Grand Prix of Edmonton, Tennis Canada, TSN, Nike, Hockey Canada and the CFL among others make this Canada's most important sponsorship conference.

This first-of-its-kind forum is held in conjunction with a prime Canadian sponsorship property: the 2005 Grey Cup. This integration of a forum format with a flagship property promises to be an experience like no other. Attendees will be privy to an exclusive behind the scenes look at the Grey Cup on Saturday night and all registrations include a ticket to the 2005 CFL Grey Cup.